These stories from Donna Austin come from her rich Maui history and heritage.

01 August 2006

Prologue 1976

A woman with her 3 year old twin girls gazed in awe at the church built perfectly round, made completely of wood, and still standing in spite of its almost 100 years of assault by time.“Look Kristen and Nicole”, the woman pointed toward a sign. “It says this church of the Holy Ghost, is dedicated to all the Portuguese people who came to this island and contributed so much economically, culturally and socially to Maui. Let’s go in!”The woman’s tall husband stood back to admire the church with a practiced architectural and engineering eye. He noted how each piece of wood had been cut and slotted to fit the circular structure. As he thoughtfully studied the clean lines of the building, he heard footsteps behind him.Approaching him was an old man with graying hair and skin the color of teak wood. His face was wreathed in smiles as he said, “Aloha and welcome to our church in Maui. I’m the sexton and my job is the care and cleaning of this beautiful church.” He was obviously an extrovert and a curious one at that. He chatted on for some time before he asked, “What part of Maui is your wife from?”“Oh no, my wife is a native Californian, born and raised in the Santa Clara Valley,” he answered. He saw that the old man’s crestfallen face looked very puzzled at this information. So to make him feel better, he truthfully added, “But her mother was born in Maui and her grandmother was born here too. Her mother’s family migrated to California in 1924.”The sexton shook his head and smiled knowingly, “I thought she was a Maui Girl.”